490. A Comparison of Role Conceptions among Nursing Students and Faculty from Associate Degree, Baccalaureate Degree, and Diploma Nursing Programs and Head Nurses

Sex Role Identity and Perceptions of Nurse Role Discrepancy

“…Three tools were organized into one instrument for administration purposes: (1) Personal Oata Inventory (POI), (2) Bern (1974, 198Ia) Sex-Role Inventory-Short Form (Short BSRI), and (3) Pieta (1976) Nurse Role Conception (PNRC) Scale. The POI appeared first; the BSRI and PNRC were placed alternately in second and third positions to counterbalance possible order effects.…”

“…Three relatively distinct components of the nurse role have been identified: professional, bureaucratic, and service nurse role conceptions (Corwin, 1960;Kramer, 1968aKramer, , 1968bPieta, 1976). Each requires a combination of stereo typically masculine and feminine behaviors.…”

“…The professional role conception represents a primary loyalty to the nursing profession (Pieta, 1976). Its satisfactory enactment within the bureaucratically organized hospital structure requires the nurse to behave both independently as a professional and dependently as a hospital employee.…”

“…This requires that the nurse behave in an independent, goal-directed, taskorientated manner by strictly enforcing administrative rules and regulations while also behaving in a dependent manner by adhering to the prescribed routine and being deferent and submissive to authority (Kramer, 1968a;Pieta, 1976).…”

“…Finally, the service nurse role conception implies a primary loyalty to the client as a unique human being (Pieta, 1976). Its enactment requires the nurse to integrate expressive behaviors, such as nurturance, compassion, and caring, with instrumental behaviors, such as decision making and exercising power within the bureaucratic structure on behalf of the client.…”